Kratie

Kratie

Peruse a map of Cambodia and you’ll find Kratie Province in the top right hand corner of the country, separated from southern Laos and the Four Thousand Islands by Stung Treng and from Vietnam’s Central Highlands to the east by Mondulkiri Province. Angkor and Siem Reap lie way to the west while the capital, Phnom Penh, is some 250 kilometres to the south meaning Kratie is rather remote and well off the usual tourist trails. Despite its remoteness, Kratie does feature on no less than 3 of our Laos and Cambodia small group tours so, why do we visit and what’s it like?

The province is largely rural while the provincial capital of the same name is a small, laid-back town with a picturesque setting on the eastern bank of the Mekong. The town has a smattering of French period architecture but is probably best known for the spectacular sunsets from it’s riverside cafes while the province’s main draw are the famous Irrawaddy dolphins. What is sadly the last remaining pod of the freshwater dolphins on the Mekong inhabits a stretch of the Mekong just north of the town in Sambour District. (A second, smaller pod formerly inhabited the border area below Lao’s Khone Phaphaeng falls.) On the positive side the Kratie dolphins are carefully protected and in recent years have recorded very encouraging birth rates. (This WWF link counted 89 adult individuals in 2020 while 2026 estimates are up to 118 including calves. Consequently, visits are crucial in order to demonstrate to local people the importance of protecting the species. Local fishermen are poor and we can’t rely on altruism alone – they need to see some financial benefits as well.)

Sambour, or Sambor, is also the location of Sambhupura ancient city, an important settlement dating back to Chenla times although unfortunately for Kratie’s Department of Tourism, few vestiges remain today. While hardly a tourist hotspot, the pleasant town does make for a convenient stop on our journey from southern Laos to Phnom Penh which forms part of our Laos and Cambodia tours,  Mekong Adventure and the Thailand, Laos and Cambodia tour, the Emerald Triangle. (The point where the three countries meet is sometimes known as the Emerald Triangle.)

The aforementioned itineraries pan out as follows; depart Don Khone in the Four Thousand Islands in the morning by boat and rendezvous with our minibus in the riverside port of Nakasong for the short drive to the border at Don Kalor. Immigration formalities completed, (note, despite the Cambodian immigration department’s erroneous information, Cambodia e-visas are accepted at this crossing), it’s an hour and a half drive into Stung Treng town where it’s usually about time for a coffee break. From here we head south to Sambour for a boat trip to see the famous dolphins. After a simple, local-style lunch we’ll continue to Kratie with, generally, a mid-afternoon arrival. Frankly, there’s no choice for our overnight stop in those parts with Stung Treng being too close to the border – making day 2 an impractical journey – and Kampong Cham, the next major town to the south, being too long a drive for the first day.

Kratie it is then although we’ll have to point out that being such an off-the-beaten-track destination, the town’s tourism infrastructure is correspondingly limited. There’s one very well placed bar/cafe whose balcony offers excellent sunset views and a couple of decent eateries but accommodation options are never going to compete with those of the capital Phnom Penh or even the resorts of popular Don Khone. Few tour groups make it this far but if they do then a favourite is Soriyabori Villas Resort, a mid-range spot situated on an island in the Mekong opposite Kratie Town. That’s all very well if the itinerary stretches to a day and 2 nights in the area but for a brief one night stay the extra hassle and time of unloading passengers and baggage, transporting them across the river and repeating the process the following morning isn’t really worth it. (Especially bearing in mind we’ve just spent 2 nights on a Mekong island in Laos anyway.)

There’s also the very upmarket – so posh it even has a French name – Relais de Chhlong, in the town of the same name but that’s another hour’s drive farther south and has a price tag to suit the name. Back in town, the fanciest option is the delightfully decorated Privada Lodge however – and it’s a big however- having a grand total of 3 rooms makes the lodge a hard one to book. The simple, albeit comfortable, clean and centrally located, Sorya Guesthouse is therefore our current go to.

The following day we complete our journey south to Phnom Penh. It’s around 4.5 hours driving time so with a few stops en route with the usual ETA in the capital also being mid-afternoon. Various points of interest make interesting potential stops to break up the journey and include; the aforementioned Chhlong Town with its well-preserved French period architecture; the unusual hilltop monastery Wat Hanchey which offers great views and a 6th century temple; the excellent carved reliefs at Angkor-period Wat Nokor; what’s claimed to be the World’s longest bamboo bridge and a break for lunch in Kampong Cham Town.

That then is Kratie and our short, albeit interesting, northern Cambodia section.